Van Bael & Bellis counsel Isabelle Van Damme has co-authored a chapter on ‘The World Trade Organization’ which has been published in an edited collection on Conceptual and Contextual Perspectives on the Modern Law of Treaties (Cambridge University Press, 2018). She wrote the chapter together with Professor Joost Pauwelyn (Graduate Institute, Geneva). Further information on that publication is available here.

On 13 November 2018, Van Bael & Bellis co-managing partner Jean-François Bellis moderated a panel at LeadershIP EU’s 2nd annual conference, which explored the impact of IP and competition policy on global business and innovation looking toward the future, 5G and emerging technologies. The panel was titled Effects-Based Analysis: Where Do We Stand on Both Sides of the Atlantic? and the discussion focused on the competition law trends in the US and the EU in the area of effects-based analysis. The other panel members were the Honourable Douglas Ginsburg, Senior Circuit Judge, US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia and Sir Robin Jacob, Sir Hugh Laddie Chair of Intellectual Property Law, University College London and Former Justice in the Court of Appeal of England and Wales. Further details about the conference are available here.

On 9 November 2018, Van Bael & Bellis counsel Isabelle Van Damme spoke on Concluding trade and investment agreements separately – implications for negotiation, conclusion and application at the Annual Conference on EU Trade and Investment Law 2018, organised by the Academy of European Law in Brussels. Isabelle’s presentation focused on institutional questions relating to the negotiation, conclusion and application of trade and investment agreements with particular emphasis on whether such agreements may or must be concluded as EU-only agreements or as mixed agreements. Isabelle also chaired the panel on Brexit.

The Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee of the UK House of Commons wrote on 7 November 2018 to Vertex, the National Health Service (“NHS England”) and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (“NICE”) to request pricing information regarding the cystic fibrosis medicine Orkambi® (see attached letters). The move follows two-and-a-half years of unsuccessful pricing negotiations between these parties.

The Royal Decree of 30 July 2018 (the Royal Decree), which entered into force on 31 October 2018, sets out the legal framework in relation to the new central register of beneficial ownership (the UBO Register) and the obligation for all Belgian companies and other entities to communicate information in relation to their ultimate beneficial owner(s) (UBOs) for inclusion in the UBO Register.

The College of Prosecutors of the Belgian Competition Authority (“BCA”) announced on 8 November 2018 that it has submitted a draft infringement decision to the Competition College with the request to review the Prosecutors’ findings and take a final decision against the professional organisation of pharmacists known as “Orde der Apothekers”/”Ordre des pharmaciens” (the “PO”).